Science and Research committee  I'd begin with the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, which Alan has served with such distinction for 10 years. I had the enormous privilege of being chair of that in earlier days. That was a remarkable vision of Fraser Mustard, mainly—with help from people like John Evans—to identify some of those areas that were areas of great need, dependent upon interdisciplinary approaches.

Science and Research committee  Yes, we should do a much better job of regulation, of doing it smartly, thoroughly but promptly, all with a sense of dispatch. I write books about this. I'm doing a sixth edition of Canadian Securities Regulation. Finding that right balance of regulation, which is necessary but efficient, is a very key challenge.

Science and Research committee  I think it's the beginning, the middle ground and the end. Curiosity fuels everything, and goes along with the courage to think independently. I should say this about teaching. In my installation address as GG, it was entitled “A smart and caring nation”. I said if you remember only three words of what I say today, they are “Cherish our Teachers”, because apart from our family they have the most important influences on us.

Science and Research committee  Very simply, it happened because provincial governments decided they did not want any more medical places, and equally so with other health disciplines. In fact, when I was at McGill, we were in a position of contracting the number of places. McGill went from 160 down to 101 placements in medical school.

Science and Research committee  We don't do much of a job on that very subject, profession by profession. We do it somewhat, but not nearly enough in having appropriate, sensitive testing of the backgrounds of the individuals who wish to practise their profession in this country, and then providing appropriate experiential learning, focusing on theoretical learning as necessary, in apprenticeships so that these people are qualified to practise in their professions.

Science and Research committee  I do not really have anything to add.

Science and Research committee  One of Canada's very significant assets is that it has tremendous francophone and anglophone institutions. Students therefore have a choice, which influences those who want to study in French or in English and attracts them to Canada. That is extremely valuable.

Science and Research committee  Let me focus on the Canadian Space Agency specifically. I could say several things. One is that what impresses me is the international collaboration that has come from Canada's participation with a number of nations, including some who are not necessarily the most friendly nations, with respect to great projects.

Science and Research committee  Canada is in a very special position. A survey comparing various cities around the world in terms of student life saw Montreal come out on top, which is good. But it is not just Montreal. A welcoming and quality‑oriented spirit is evident in Quebec and in Canada. We must work very hard to encourage student exchanges with other countries.

Science and Research committee  The first thing we do is recognize what an important resource it is to be living side by each with the United States. So many of us had our education in the United States. So many of us have had the opportunity to work on joint research projects with them. So many of our institutions have benefited from Americans who have come north, such as two of the individuals whom Alan cited just a moment ago.

Science and Research committee  First, it's a dramatic change in how we communicate. What brought western Europe out of the dark ages into the industrial revolution in the 15th and 16th centuries was the development of the printing press. Other nations had it. China had it. Islam had it. That printing press transformed western Europe into democracies, into people who learn by reading and studying and so on, but it took three centuries for it to reach the majority of the populace in western Europe.

Science and Research committee  I had the wonderful privilege of looking at that over 20 years ago when I chaired the information highway advisory council with two reports, one in 1993-94 and the other in 1994-95. John Manley was the minister. Kevin Lynch was then deputy minister of industry, and Mike Binder was the associate deputy minister of spectrum.

Science and Research committee  Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Some men see things as they are and say why, I dream of things that [ought to be] and [ask], why not”. Thank you.

Science and Research committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I am honoured to be here today and to have the opportunity to speak to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research. One cannot overemphasize the importance of your subject: moon shot innovation. Innovation begins with curiosity and moves to creativity, but very simply it means doing things better.